Cade May hears some form of this statement all too often - in school, on television, from other media.

The 15-year-old Grant High School student grew up in Portland in a predominantly white neighborhood with a white mom, white friends and in a white world. But his skin is not white, and his black hair is tight and curly.

Cade is half African American and half English-Russian. He is Jewish.

The biracial teenager has increasingly had to navigate racial identity as he has grown older. People's comments and glares have reminded him that though he looks different from the majority of his community, he has more in common with people than they think.

Just walking down the street he is faced with misconceptions about who he should be and who he is. People will cross the street in order to avoid walking near him. To them, he is a potential threat, he said. He senses that they see him as a "typical black man," though he doesn't know who that typical black man is supposed to be.

"There is no typical," Cade said. "Everyone is an individual and someone's skin doesn't define who someone is."

Cade has little direct contact with African American culture. His dad, who is black, has been absent from Cade's life. In his 15 years, Cade has met his dad twice for brief moments, once when he was about 6 and again when he was about 10.

Those encounters were "like meeting any other guy," Cade said. His father was a stranger who had never been around. There was no excitement when he and his father met, and his father had never done anything special to make himself stand out to Cade.

Cade grew up with his mother, Caryn May, and their network of family friends. Cade turned to other people in his life to provide support while primarily relying on his mom.

"I don't really need a dad," he said. "I'm fine without one."

Growing up, Cade often found himself to be one of the few people of color at synagogue events, family parties and soccer practice. However, Cade grew up not caring about skin color and not really noticing race mattered. As he grew older, though, people on the streets and even friends pointed out his skin color. It mattered.

Upon meeting Cade, people comment on how he doesn't fit their stereotype. He said they expect him to dress a certain way, with baggy clothes or sports clothing. People have told him that they expect him to use more slang and listen to certain music, such as rap and hip-hop. He said he is stuck in a little box of stereotypes where he doesn't belong and where he thinks no one belongs.

"I feel like we're all just people and (color) shouldn't matter," he said.

Skin color makes no difference and he doesn't care if his darker skin makes people scared or prompts them to tell offensive jokes. He has come to terms with looking different than most of his community.

"It's their problem," he said of those who judge him. He said that he reached the conclusion that other people's opinions don't affect him.

"I'll never get away from all the people who are judgmental," Cade said, but he is proud of who he is and of his background.

Today, Cade knows who he is and what he wants to do with his life.

The teenager wants to provide his mother, who he is very close to, with the life she deserves. His goal of becoming an ophthalmologist, or an eye doctor, is closer than ever as he aims to keep his 4.0 grade point average in high school. He said he appreciates how eyes work.

"Vision is a gift and not everyone gets to experience it, and maybe one day I'll be able to give people that opportunity," he said.

He spends his free time playing the guitar, which he has done for more than seven years. He enjoys acoustic music and artists such as John Mayer and Jack Johnson. He notes that pop and blues rock are genres of music that many people don't expect him to be interested in. He has also played soccer since he was 4 years old.

Cade knows that in the future other people will question his appearance and interests, but he knows he is the only one who gets to choose his racial identity.

"I'm just another human being and in a matter of years all of us will end up in the same place, regardless of racial identity," Cade said. "I look at myself as a student, soccer and guitar player -- and how other people view me doesn't matter."